Durban - The families of the two children who were allegedly raped by the same man within an hour have commended the police for his arrest and have called for him to be denied bail.
The 35-year-old man from Hammarsdale is alleged to have first raped a 10-year-old boy, who he then dropped off in his marked company truck near a Camperdown house. He then allegedly walked into the house wielding a knife and raped an 8-year-old girl.
The rapes happened a week ago.
It is alleged the boy had been sent to a nearby shop when he was approached by the truck driver, who asked the boy to show him the way to a church. Once the boy was in the truck, the driver pulled over near a school and raped him.
Relatives said that following the suspect’s arrest last week, the two victims have identified him as the “uncle in the truck”.
“He abused the child near his school and on Monday he (the boy) went back to school. That is traumatic,” the boy’s guardian said.
“He is afraid of the uncle since he threatened to kill him if he told anyone about what happened. We don’t want him to get bail and come and kill these children,” she added.
Police said the suspect’s marked truck led them straight to him.
Police spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbele said both victims had described the same man as their attacker.
“Preliminary investigations led the police to a company in Hammarsdale, where they got the details of the person driving that vehicle that day. He was arrested and appeared in court on Monday.”
Mbele said the man was expected to apply for bail in the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court on September 25.
“The thought that he could be released on bail kills me inside. The community is still very angry about what he did, so if he gets bail there’s going to be a problem in the community,” said a relative of the young girl.
Despite being anxious about the bail application, they were grateful that the suspect had been arrested quickly.
“The police and the media played an important role in his arrest. The man is a danger to children and should remain behind bars.”